Draft report of

CHAPTER - 12

RESEARCH

At the dawn of independence, universities in India were the focal points for both teaching and research. However, since the late 1960’s there has been a massive erosion of research, particularly experimental research, in most universities. This task of quality research has been taken over by a large number of small, well-equipped and reasonably well-funded institutions. Over the years, the Universities have become more and more teaching institutions.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee in its 172^nd Report has recommended that the following measure to help make research a mainstay of our higher education. Governments, both Central and State and other funding agencies should provide organized support to research activities for modernizing laboratories and removal of obsolescence in equipments on regular basis.
The base of sciences in the university needs to be rebuilt and strengthened by taking newer initiatives in the frontier areas. The Committee is of the view that utility of social sciences to our society, polity, economy, etc. cannot be overlooked. They add value to one’s life and any study that is value-free, in fact, tends to become sterile. The Committee, therefore, is of the considered opinion that this imbalance needs to be corrected immediately by making the study of social sciences scientific, interesting and relevant to present situation
12.1 Given the overall policy of expansion of the Universities in the XI^th Plan, it is absolutely critical that Universities should be provided with adequate level of support for each of the faculty member to conduct research so that standards improve and doctoral students are given reasonable training. To fulfill these objectives, the following are proposed.

• 
  To enhance the quality of teaching, learning and research, the UGC should identify institution (colleges) offering postgraduate and research programmes and encourage them with liberal research grants and provide broadband and digital resources (inflibnet etc.). Postgraduate and research departments should be encouraged to do more research and their workload (teaching) should be considerably reduced.
  
• 
  Age limit for women teachers may be extended for award of research grants
  
• 
  Priority should be given to achieve maximization of the level of access to research journals and development of e-journals.
  
• 
  Besides providing research grants directly to the faculty, steps may be considered to make provision for Research Associates, Teaching Assistants and Post-doctoral Fellows for universities. The UGC can also extend matching grant for resources generated by a State university through consultancy work to build up corpus fund to promote further research.
  
• 
  The Universities need to link their teaching and research initiatives with manpower training program and innovation and entrepreneurship.
  
• 
  Research funds not only from the University Grants Commission but from other funding agencies also should be extended to the colleges. At least 200 undergraduate colleges in science, technology and social sciences should be provided additional assistance to develop them into colleges of Excellence.
  

• 
  There are a large number of sanctioned faculty positions in universities that have been lying vacant for a prolonged period. Inducting talented faculty with a view to strengthening the research base should expeditiously fill up these positions.
  

• 
  1000 positions of Research Scientists at various levels equivalent to that of Lecturer, Reader and Professor need to be created.
  

• 
  There is a need to create 10 networking centres in Basic Sciences (two centres each in Physical Sciences, Chemical Sciences, Life Sciences, Material Sciences and Mathematical Sciences) in leading Departments of Universities in different parts of the country to promote collaborative research, access to advanced facilities and training in frontier areas.
  

• 
  Formal linkage between the Universities and national level institutions including CSIR laboratories be promoted through joint research projects and training.
  

• 
  The system of both winter and Summer Schools must be supported. Each subject area of Basic Sciences may offer upto ten programmes a year. There should be a provision for visiting Fellowships for faculty within the Country.
  

• 
  The number of Ph.Ds from Indian Universities should increase five-fold within a span of ten years with proper standards.
  

• 
  Every institutions of higher learning should earmark 5% of its non-plan budget for the furtherance of research in basic sciences. 10% of the capital grant allocated to each University should be provided as annual maintenance grants towards spare parts, annual maintenance contracts, some add-on facilities and repairs etc. The overhead charges provided to the Universities should be made uniform at 15%.
  

• 
  Special Assistance should be provided to ten selected Universities to establish them as world-class premier Universities in the country.
  

• 
  Leading postgraduate teaching universities and IITs should be encouraged to impart undergraduate science education.
  

• 
  Encouragement be given to interdisciplinary movement between Science & Technology streams and industrial R&D by establishing 20 Engineering Schools that admit students with a bachelor’s degree in Sciences for a two-year B.Tech. Degree in selected areas requiring strong science-technology interface.
  

• 
  The competitive Grant System for Research and Development should be further strengthened.
  

• 
  National Merit Scholarships should be provided for 1000 B.Sc and 500 M.Sc. students.
  

• 
  Research fellowships for Ph.D students need to be enhanced.
  

• 
  Meritorious doctoral students should be recognized through teaching assistantships with stipends over and above the research fellowships.
  

• 
  Post-doctoral research culture must be promoted for improvements in R&D.
  

• 
  Refresher courses need to be strengthened for improvement in quality of existing faculty.
  

• 
  Meritorious scientists should be recognized by creating positions of National Professors.
  

• 
  Working conditions for women in Science and Technology need to be improved, all major institutions of higher learning and research should have on campus crèches.
  

• 
  Every faculty member of the University must be provided with the minimum contingency grant every year.
  

• 
  About 50% of the funding available in the competitive grant system of various Government agencies should be specifically marked for universities.
  

• 
  Research grant should only be used only for consumables, minor-spares, data collection and analysis, field studies and publications.
  

• 
  All new faculty members in experimental areas should be given a start up grant to set up their research laboratories or to acquire the tools necessary for their research.